Germany calls on Russia to provide medical assistance to Ukrainian film director Sentsov

Germany has called on Russia to provide medical assistance to imprisoned Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov without delay.

Bärbel Kofler, the German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, announced this in a statement.

"The fact that the European Court of Human Rights has called on Russia to immediately provide necessary medical assistance to Oleh Sentsov underscores the widespread concern about his condition, which has only intensified again since the beginning of [his] hunger strike in May," the statement said.

"I sincerely hope that the Russian government will make a decision and urgently ensure [the prisoner's] full access to medical care. I also hope for the early release of Mr. Sentsov and Mr. [Oleksandr] Kolchenko," Kofler said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's security forces detained Sentsov together with Oleksandr Kolchenko in occupied Crimea in May 2014 on charges of organizing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. In August 2015, the North Caucasus District Military Court in Russia's Rostov-on-Don sentenced Sentsov to 20 years in a high-security penal colony. Kolchenko was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Both men pleaded not guilty. Sentsov declared hunger strike on May 14 indefinitely. He went on hunger strike against the actions of the Kremlin, demanding the release of all the Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia.

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